Students in NAME schools score statistically significantly higher on national exams in math and Portuguese than students in other non-NAME schools.

Learn more about the research behind the findings

Do NAME students perform better in maths and Portuguese on national exams?A study exploring Prova Brasil scores to measure achievement

We wanted to find out how NAME use is associated with student achievement. We commissioned Merola Research, LLC to complete a study comparing 54 schools using NAME with 267 comparable non-NAME schools.

The researchers looked at students’ achievement on Prova Brasil — a national math and Portuguese exam administered every two years to public schools students in 5th and 9th grades, in both sets of schools. All this data was publicly available from the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research (INEP).

The teaching sequence, growing emphasis on active learning, and professional development strategies at the center of NAME schools are designed to enhance student learning. As a result, we wanted to explore whether students in NAME schools performed better on national exams than students in similar schools not implementing NAME.

Researchers found that after comparing the group means, students in NAME schools scored statistically significantly higher than 5th-grade and 9th-grade comparison students in both mathematics and Portuguese.

In the context of this study, an analysis of 2015 data made publicly available through INEP, Pearson is able to make the following comparative statements about the efficacy of NAME:

5th-grade students who had received NAME since 1st grade, from schools already using NAME, outscored students from similar schools (matched on 2009 IDEB, 2013 SES, and 2015 school complexity) by 4 points on the Prova Brasil Portuguese assessment and 11 points on the Prova Brasil math assessment in 2015.

9th-grade students who had received NAME since 6th grade, from schools already using NAME, outscored students from similar schools (matched on 2011 IDEB, 2013 SES, and 2015 school complexity) by 3 points on the Prova Brasil Portuguese assessment and 6 points on the Prova Brasil math assessment in 2015.

“Adopting NAME was very important...it gives reassurance to the teachers and a lot of confidence for the parents. The positive results are surely coming from all the work and competence that NAME brings to our municipality.”